The Lady Doth Protest Too Much
by British Chicky
Summary: Takes place during "Party at Neutron's", what happens when Cindy has to confront the feelings she's been avoiding for years?


The Lady Doth Protesteth Too Much.  
  
By British Chicky  
  
Authors Note - Alright alright, party people *grin* this is my first Jimmy Neutron fanfic, and I wrote it pretty late at night with a crappy word processor that didn't have spell check (Oh the joys of having Microsoft Word malfunctioning.) So I'm sorry if there are spelling/grammar errors... I'll come back and correct them all at some point. Also, the format might be a bit screwy, I tried using a bit of html, but I don't know if it will work... Anyway, this takes place during the episode "Party at Neutron's" and... it's pretty short compared to most of the fanfics I write. Probably because inspiration chose to strike me late at night, I have school tomorrow, and flunking out of tenth grade isn't really an option for me. Some of the stuff conflicts with what happens in the episode, but come on people, use your imagination. Well anyway, I hope y'all like my little fic, please review whether you do or not.  
  
Disclaimer - Jimmy Neutron and crew belong to Nick. I think the plot belongs to me, but who knows. Don't bother suing me, all I've got is a couple of beanie babies and a nickel named Phillip.  
  
"Damn that Betty Quinlin. With her perfect hair and adorable smile, none of the rest of us stand a chance tonight." I muttered under my breath.  
  
"Stand a chance with who, girl?" Libby asked me, smirking slightly.  
  
"What? I didn't say anything about anyone!" I protested.  
  
Libby sighed and gave me a pointed look. "Cindy hun, you've got to give the whole 'I don't care about Neutron' thing up. You may be the smartest girl in school, but you couldn't lie to save your own mother. And besides, I'm your best friend! Why do you feel like you've got to hide this stuff from me?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Who did she think she was calling my bluff like that? I hated Neutron, Neutron knew I hated him, and everyone else did too.  
  
"If you're going to play dumb, take it up with someone else who's stupid enough to play it with you," she replied simply while looking over my shoulder. "Oh, there's a prime subject."  
  
I turned around to see who exactly she was looking at, just in time to see Ultra Dork walking our way. Gliding around us in a curiously sly fashion, he placed himself between us and put one arm over Libby's shoulders and the other over mine.  
  
"Ladies..." he said in a way that I suppose would be considered 'smooth' for someone like Sheen, "Great party, isn't it? I knew my man Neutron would pull through."  
  
I scoffed as I gingerly removed his arm from my shoulders. "If this is the best party you've ever gone to, your social life must seriously be lacking. But then again, we are talking about you now, aren't we?"  
  
Ouch. That was mean, even for me.  
  
"Alright, alright!" Sheen said, taking a small step away from me. "Who got her panties in a bunch?" he asked Libby quietly.  
  
"I heard that!" I said.  
  
"Who do you think got her panties in a bunch?" replied my so-called best friend. "Who's up on the table over there dancing with Miss Perfect Quinlin?"  
  
Sheen turned around and grinned at the sight before him. I groaned and flopped on the loveseat behind me.  
  
"I knew it!" Sheen said, grinning with utmost triumph, sitting on the arm of the loveseat.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, hoping it would work better on the action figure obsessed boy than it had on Libby.  
  
"Give me a break, Cindy," he said. "What do you think I am, stupid or something?"  
  
"You don't want me to answer that."  
  
"Whatever, man. It's the second time I've come over here to talk to you now, and you're still complaining about Jimmy. Why don't you just give it up? I mean, sure not everyone is as smart and observant as me -"  
  
With that comment, Libby began to cough excessively and excused herself to get a drink.  
  
"-But even the really dumb people here can see right through you. And believe me, you keep something like that hidden for too long, and you're going to end up with some, like, serious issues."  
  
"You would know, wouldn't you, Ultra Genius?" I remarked sarcastically. "I've got nothing to hide here, and if you think I'm lying, you can take it up with my fist." I waved my fist threateningly in his face just to emphasize my point.  
  
"You couldn't lie to save your mother," he said, taking my hand and placing it back in my lap. "Now, I've got a girl to dance with, so if you want to sit here for the rest of the night feeling sorry for yourself, go right ahead."  
  
"You've got to stop hanging around Libby so much," I commented as he stood up and left me alone on the loveseat. I watched him as he met Libby at the punch table, whispered a few words in her ear, and then grabbed her hand and dragged her off to dance.  
  
"Great," I thought to myself. "Now my so-called best friend is off dancing with Ultra Dweeb, I'm sitting here myself, and Neutron is up on the table dancing with the perfect Betty Quinlin. Not that I care who Jimmy dances with. He can dance with whoever he feels like dancing with."  
  
Feeling extremely thirsty, I stood up and headed for Jimmy's kitchen to get myself a glass of water. After fumbling around in the cabinets for a while, I managed to find myself a glass and filled it up with water from the tap. Wiping my lips in an unladylike fashion, I stuck the glass in the sink and turned to go back to my space on the empty loveseat.  
  
It's a pity that I never look where I'm going.  
  
I fell to the ground after colliding with something short, brown haired, and big headed.  
  
"Ouch! Watch where you're going, you - Oh, it's you, Cindy."  
  
I looked up to see none other than the Nerdtron himself looking down on me. After my vision focused again, I noticed that his hand was reached out towards me. I grabbed it and he helped pull me up off the tile floor. We stood in silence for a moment, and I concentrated on looking anywhere other than at him.  
  
"So..." he said awkwardly. "Having a good time?"  
  
"Well, seeing as you're here, I'd find that situation to be nearly impossible." I said sourly. God, why did I always have to act so... crude?  
  
Jimmy scoffed. "Drop the act, Vortex."  
  
I felt a blush rising steadily over my face. "What are you talking about, Nerdtron?"  
  
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Cindy, you're smart as anything, but you're a crappy actress. I know you're not this mean, why can't you just accept that?"  
  
"You're crazy," I remarked. "I don't understand why you can't just accept the fact that we are never going to get along. I don't like you, you don't like me, and nothing in the world is going to change that."  
  
Jimmy sighed. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?" he asked.  
  
"What are you talking about, there's nothing here to be made difficult!"  
  
"Just... ugh. Look, do you want to dance?"  
  
I felt like I had just had my breath knocked out of me. There was another awkward silence. What was I supposed to do? Neutron wasn't supposed to catch me off guard like this!  
  
"Um, Jimmy... I'm realize that I should be honored and all, but I'm not in the mood for a pity dance."  
  
I pushed past him quickly and hurried to the nearest restroom. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw something that I had been trying to overlook for the past year.  
  
"I'm a fool..." I said quietly to myself. "An extremely love struck fool."  
  
I made my way back to my vacant spot that I had been sitting in before my run-in with Neutron. I stared blankly into space for what seemed like forever. Before I knew it, Libby was poking me in the side of my head in a desperate attempt to get me back to earth.  
  
"Get off Libby, I'm coming." I said as I stood up and headed for the door with the rest of the crowd.  
  
After saying my goodbyes to a rather concerned looking Libby and Sheen, I slowly walked across the street to my house. I sat on the curb, watching Jimmy say goodbye to the rest of the party guests. There seemed to be only one girl left standing next to him in the doorway...  
  
I groaned. It was none other than Betty Quinlin. I stared at the doorway, trying to figure out what was taking her so long to leave.  
  
I only wished I had turned away as she bent over to kiss him on the cheek.  
  
"Way to go, Cindy," I said to myself. "There goes your last chance."  
  
On my way into the house, Jimmy's words kept echoing in my mind.  
  
"Cindy, you're as smart as anything, but you're a crappy actress."  
  
Did he know?  
  
Maybe Neutron was smarter than I thought.  
  
The End... for now.  
  
Author's Note #2 - I feel mean for leaving it like that. Should I make a sequel? Just to make things right again? Hm... Give me the night, and I'll figure it out. Thanks for reading! 


End file.
